by John Lumley
We had the biggest Percy Cup to date with ten teams entering the battle for the coveted Percy Cup trophy. Play started early on Friday as Philadelphia 3 narrowly took down Aiken on countback to play Philadelphia 1 later in the day. Boston played well to beat Washington 1 — two matches to one. The match between Jeff Smith and Daniel Hsu versus Temple Grassi and Brendan Welsh was a barn burner with Smith and Hsu taking it 8-7 in the final point! Philadelphia 1 played a solid match against Philadelphia 3 to advance to the quarterfinals with a three-love win. Washington 2 had a great showing against New York 1 to win the first two matches and secure the win. Philadelphia 2 beat Newport two matches to one to also get them into the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Philadelphia 1’s team of Anders Cohen and Patrick Harris played superb doubles to beat a very solid team of Charlie Katz and Matt Fraidin 8-4; to give their team the perfect start against Washington 2. Saby Bose and Dan Barrus beat the in-form team of Emile Toscano and Anderson Good 8-2 with some amazing volleys and pace. The Washington 2 team of Andrea Powers and Jack Powers played great to beat Tim McManus and T.J.Dougherty 8-6 but it was too late, and Philadelphia 1 advanced to the final. In the second semifinal, Philadelphia 2 played against New York 2 – Parker Brickley and Tolly Krusen playing out of the minds to beat Michael Gorsen and Andrew Dick 8-3. Brad Thompson and Dick Tanfield fought back in the second match to beat Winston Simone and Ted Goneos 8-4 tying up the match! With the pressure on for the third pair Will Winmill and Wells Ross played textbook doubles with control, picking off galleries and serving great to take NY2 into the final over John Schellenberg and Baird Standish 8-3.
In the consolation draw, Philadelphia 3 played against Newport. Newport took the first match 8-4 but Philadelphia 3 fought back and won the next two matches to win the consolation draw!
With the finals set – Philadelphia 1 versus New York 2 — the Dedans was filling up with teammates and spectators. Cohen and Harris played solid court tennis to win the first match 8-3. Very little errors and smart play showing some impressive control. Up next the lawn tennis superstars of Barrus and Bose played against Simone and Goneos. The match was very close early on with the teams tied at 3 games all. Barrus finding a good serve and Bose striking some missiles closed out the match 8-4 giving Philadelphia 1 a 2-0 lead. The last match was McManus and Dougherty against Winmill and Ross. Both teams came out firing with great shots and plenty of targets being hit. It came down to the final game with McManus and Dougherty taking it 8-7 to give Philadelphia 1 the 2019 Percy Cup with a 3-0 win over New York 2! A fantastic match and a huge thank you to all that played and made it the biggest Percy Cup to date.
